Zoeysxohttps://www.zoeysxo.com
A blog by Courtney Smith
Mon, 18 Mar 2019 21:24:28 +0000 en-US
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3232159175841The College Admissions Scandal {And Why I’m Not Surprised}https://www.zoeysxo.com/the-college-admissions-scandal-and-why-im-not-surprised/
https://www.zoeysxo.com/the-college-admissions-scandal-and-why-im-not-surprised/#respondMon, 18 Mar 2019 21:06:25 +0000https://www.zoeysxo.com/?p=502First of all, I know you’ve heard of this. If you haven’t, then congratulations, you live under a rock. But, I don’t blame you because I live under a rock when it comes to new music. Anyways, we all know this scandal is exactly what rich people would pull because either they don’t believe that their kids are actually smart enough to get into college or the fact that they don’t care and they are taking advantage of a system that already panders to rich white kids.

College is hard enough to get into without a bunch of cheaters also fighting for the same spot. I should know! I studied for four years, for multiple h0urs a week, went to more SAT and ACT classes than I can count, and learned everything I could about the college admissions process just to even have a slightly better chance than people around me. People like me, that look like me, live in the same area, or who are in worst situations have to fight tooth and nail just to get their foot even in the door. I’ve realized a long time ago who the world is catered to, but this is a new level. It’s like something you would watch in a movie, in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone was already writing a book and script about it right now…

Here’s the rundown on what happened. A man named William “Rick” Singer (a college prep coach) was the alleged man behind the scandal. His scheme was apparently “preying on parents’ fears, and promising lofty guarantees.” 50 people were involved in the scandal who either cheated on standardized test (such as SAT or ACT) or bribed coaches and officials to accept them to an athletic team. I think one of the craziest parts of one of the bribes made to a coach was that the girl hadn’t even played on the team. She was photoshopped to look like she was! What?!?! Lori Loughlin (actress who played Aunt Becky on Full House) and her husband Mossimo Giannulli payed $500,000 to have their daughters be recruited to the USC crew team. Below, is a picture of the girl they took playing, then photoshopped the daughter in it later.

Other people involved in the scandal include, Felicity Huffman, nine coaches, two SAT/ACT administrators, an exam proctor, a college administrator, and a CEO. Here is an interesting fact, the CEO admitted he wanted “to help the wealthiest families get their kids into elite colleges.” Would you look at that? The rich and wealthy want to help the rich and wealthy! Aw, isn’t that just so sweet! Such caring people who don’t seem to give a damn about kids who have worked their butts off to get into a college no matter what circumstance they are going through!

I think the thing that pisses me off the most about this whole situation is the fact that one of the kids didn’t even care about going to college in the first place! I’m not sure if the other kids had that same mindset, but this one girl wanted to only go to college for the “experience.” You know? Going to parties, games, and stupid crap like that. There are people out here who NEED to go to college because we have no other choice! We HAVE to get an education and get a job or we won’t survive in this world. We don’t have mommy or daddy’s money to back us up whenever we need it. She said she was sorry, but who really believes it? Check out this clip on YouTube about it!

Prosecutors said that, “some parents paid between $15,000 and $75,000 per test to help their children get a better score.” Mark Riddell, a man Rick Singer hired, took the test or replaced the students’ responses with his own. He got away with this because the test administrators were paid off. Singer hid the huge payments under “charitable contributions” to the Key WorldWide Foundation (which he ran). In an ironic turn of events, the foundation was supposed to help poor students…

Currently, the University of California is investigating everyone involved in the scandal and is looking over their admissions policies. A group of college students and parents rejected from the schools are filing a federal lawsuit. The University of Southern California fired their senior athletic director, Donna Heinel, and water polo coach, Jovan Vavic, who were both involved in the scam. USC is also reviewing their admissions policies and all USC applicants that were apart of the scandal will be denied admission. Other schools involved in the scandal are also firing people involved. “Singer pleaded guilty to racketeering, money laundering, obstruction of justice and conspiracy, and now faces a maximum of 65 years in jail.”

Do you want to know why I am not surprised? Because since God knows how long, people have used whatever power they have to get ahead of others. Instead of thinking “Wait maybe this is wrong. There are people out there who are actually working hard and we should make our child work for it to” they decide to pay their way into college illegally. So not only do some people have a leg up because of the whole legacy thing (mainly at Harvard and other Ivy-Leagues), but they also give very “charitable” donations to the colleges. The only thing different about this scandal was that the money was more directed to coaches or test administrators. But do you know whats the same? The people they hurt. People like you and me who are actually trying. I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ll hear about rich people scamming their way into college.

]]>https://www.zoeysxo.com/the-college-admissions-scandal-and-why-im-not-surprised/feed/0502Captain Marvel Set Visit + Visit to Disney Studios and Marvel Studioshttps://www.zoeysxo.com/captain-marvel-set-visit-visit-to-disney-studios-and-marvel-studios/
https://www.zoeysxo.com/captain-marvel-set-visit-visit-to-disney-studios-and-marvel-studios/#respondSat, 16 Mar 2019 19:19:23 +0000https://www.zoeysxo.com/?p=440I can finally tell you guys wanted happened on set! Captain Marvel has been out for a week and I know some of you probably haven’t seen it yet, so I won’t be giving out big spoilers so don’t worry! If you haven’t checked out my post about how I got to visit the set and go to the Infinity War Premiere, check out my post about the Marvel 10 Year Sweepstakes! If you have already read it, you are in the right place to hear about everything else that went down that day when we visited the set of Captain Marvel, Disney Studios, and Marvel Studios, so let’s dive in!

We had to wake up pretty early in the morning (around like 6:15) to get ready, put make-up on, and meet the other winners, guests, and representatives from Marvel downstairs in the lobby. As soon as I woke up, I headed over to the window to breathe it all in. The view (like I said in the last post) was absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. After staring out the window for awhile, I finally got my life together and me and my sister headed downstairs to meet up with everyone else after eating breakfast. That day, I wore a black corset-like top, blue jeans, with vans and a diamond choker, with my hair tied back.

It took maybe 30-45 mins to get to the set from what I can remember. It was really nice seeing the different parts of LA as we drove past different neighborhoods and stores. On the van, they made everyone sign a non-disclosure agreement to not talk about anything we saw on set before the movie came out and told us we wouldn’t get the pictures we would take on set until the movie came out. When we finally got to Sony Pictures, they took our IDs and made visitor passes for us.

Because we had to sign a non-disclosure agreement, we couldn’t have our phones out. So, instead of taking our phones, they gave us this little green pouch to put our phones in and locked it (they did the same thing at the movie premiere) and unlocked it before we leave. The first place they took us was to the trailer that had all the costumes in it. We saw Carol Danvers’ (Brie Larson) costume, all the costumes for the younger versions of her, Nick Fury’s (Samuel L. Jackson) costume, Agent Coulson’s (Clark Gregg) costume, etc. I was so happy because I got to try on part of Brie Larson’s costume! It was an arm piece from her green and black costume and it was very very heavy. I might be exaggerating just a bit, but I can only imagine what the weight of the rest of her costume felt like if just that one part was weighing down my arm a bit.

From there, we moved on to the actual set. It was a really big area (in a building) with a set inside with what looked like the inside of a space ship. Let me just tell you, I thought I knew how much work got put into building sets, but this completely opened my eyes. There was so much detail that went into it! They let us walk around the “space ship”and we saw long hallways with so much details in the walls and stage lights everywhere. They even let us take pictures where Brie stood during one of the scenes on the space ship.

After taking pictures, we headed to a different set that they were putting together. To this day, even after watching the movie, I’m not sure what scene they used it for. I want to say it was for one of the last couple of scenes (I won’t say what), but it was really cool to see them building it. There was stuff everywhere, you had to really watch where you were going! I believe we met the set designer and a few other important people. The next place we went was probably my favorite part of visiting the set!

We were taken to the set that they were currently filming on with Brie and Samuel. It was a scene where Carol and Fury were on the quinjet! I can’t tell you how many times they filmed that scene. We got to stand behind where they had all the screens set up and watch with the director and producers. We could hear the cat meowing very often when they weren’t using it somewhere in a different room. They let us walk inside and all around the quinjet to get a better view of it and I’m pretty sure they said that it was one of the ones they used on the set of Agents of Shield! Samuel L. Jackson said hi to us and after they were finished filming the scene, Brie said hi and took a picture with us!

The last thing that we did while we were visiting the set was visit the props department. We got to hold many of the props, including weapons and even the tesseract! Let me tell you, those props were not light. Maybe I don’t have a lot of arm strength, but I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person that thought that! All in all, I learned so much visiting an actual movie set. I always wondered when I saw all the people credited in a movie, why they wanted to do that. I always figured everyone wanted to be well-known, but I realized not everyone wants to be in front of the camera. Everyone (even what you think are small jobs) plays a big part in making a movie and you need everyone to play the part, no matter whether they are the ones on the poster or the ones in the credits (I mean they are both in the credits, but you get what I mean, right??).

The next place they took us was to Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, CA. It definitely took awhile to get there and it seemed really far from everything else, unless I was just so excited that time seemed to be moving slowly. We got through the gates and got our passes, then they took us to get some lunch. I have to say, everywhere I looked at Disney Studios, there were posters and advertisements for Avengers: Infinity War. It was absolutely crazy how every time I saw one, I swear my heart would skip a beat because it was insane that I was going to the premiere of it later that day!

We went on a tour around the lot and they showed us where the magic happens, artifacts from Disney movies kept in a very special place, and how some of the animation for the classical Disney films were made (we couldn’t take pictures of that – top secret). I think one of the coolest things about the tour was seeing the building that looked like it was being held up by the seven dwarfs and getting to hold a real Oscar!

The next stop was to Marvel Studios, which was on the same lot. When we got inside the building and went up the elevator to the floor, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but what I got was definitely NOT AT ALL what I was expecting! First of all, when we stepped off the elevator and I saw the sign for Marvel Studios, I flipped out because this was it! I was finally here.

After loving the Marvel Universe for practically my entire life, I got to be one of the few outsiders that has nothing to do with the film business, walk inside that office and see all the amazing things they had there. They let us look around the lobby area where they had three of the costumes from Infinity War (Captain America, Black Panther, and Black Widow), along with the “Class Picture” of everyone in the Marvel movies or play an important role in making them, three iron man suits, and little sculpture of Thanos, and posters for Ant-Man and the Wasp and Avengers: Infinity War.

I’m not sure what we were all doing, but we were standing in a misshapen circle when it happened. Kevin freaking Feige walked in. If you don’t know who that is, he is the President of Marvel. We were all so surprised that he stopped by to say hi and take pictures with us. It was pretty cool! After, they took us on a tour of the place. There was so much beautiful artwork on the walls of the different heroes and villains of the MCU and artifacts from the movies all over the place. At the time, we could take pictures and videos of everything except one wall. I can now say that it was the wall with Captain Marvel and her cat, Goose. This was one of the many secrets we had to keep. There was so much secrecy over Goose that they didn’t want us even mentioning to anyone that the cat was going to be apart of the movie. If you’ve seen the movie, you can understand why they did that!

They took us into a room and talked about a project that they were working on and asked for our thoughts on it. I’m not sure when they said it would happen, but it would be pretty cool if it happened soon. Anyways, we made our way through the rest of the tour, meeting some of the artwork designers and seeing some more artifacts until we made it back full circle to the lobby. There, they gave us these really big bags full of FREE Infinity War action figures, t-shirts, posters, and a few other things! If you want to see all the stuff they gave us, the artwork on the walls, and the artifacts from many of the Marvel movies, go check out my vlog on Youtube about the entire trip!

Not only did we get a pretty cool parting gift, but they also let us take pictures with Thor’s hammer, Captain America’s shield, and in front of Iron Man’s suits. Thor’s hammer was pretty light (prop, remember?) and I totally felt worthy holding! Captain America’s shield, on the other hand, was way heavier than I expected. But, like I said earlier, maybe it’s because I’m lacking the strength to hold it (*insert crying emoji here*). Everyone took tons of photos and when it was time to go I was sad, but I knew that tonight was going to be magical. Kind of like I’m cinderella going to a ball, but instead of a ball, it’s a movie premiere.

This entire trip was one big journey/dream I didn’t ever want to leave or wake up from. It has changed me so much more than anyone can imagine and I hope that in the future, I will continue to have amazing experiences like this one and continue to see the world through eyes filled with wonder, curiosity, and awe.

If you haven’t read my post about going to the Avengers: Infinity War Premiere, go check it out here! And if you haven’t read my review on Captain Marvel, go check it out here! Also follow me on my Instagram or Twitter at @zoeysxo if you want to continue to read my content or subscribe to my blog to get emails about when I post! I guarantee you that this won’t be the last amazing thing I do. I am, after all, always working on some new adventure…

Signing Off,Zoeysxo

]]>https://www.zoeysxo.com/captain-marvel-set-visit-visit-to-disney-studios-and-marvel-studios/feed/0440Captain Marvel Review *No Spoilers*https://www.zoeysxo.com/captain-marvel-review-no-spoilers/
https://www.zoeysxo.com/captain-marvel-review-no-spoilers/#commentsThu, 14 Mar 2019 23:43:59 +0000https://www.zoeysxo.com/?p=447Okay, first of all I want to start with the fact that I’m a little biased. I went to the set, I met Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson, and I even tried on part of her costume. However, I’m going to try to be as honest as possible so let’s get started…

I absolutely love the fact that there is now a female superhero in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) that is leading a movie. We, of course, have other female superheroes who are very important to many plot lines in the Marvel Universe, but this is the first time one of them is leading their own movie. We got a taste of a ground-breaking movie with Black Panther last year as a predominately minority cast in a superhero movie, which from what I know, has never been done on as large of a scale in a big movie franchise. And, a few years ago, we got Wonder Woman, which was the first female superhero lead movie to be done in a big movie franchise.

One of the things that makes this movie amazing is the representation. I’ve heard that a lot of people wanted the movie to fail (without even seeing it I might add) and it was probably because their masculinity couldn’t handle it for some weird reason or they couldn’t deal with the fact that she would be one of the strongest Avengers (if not the strongest) along with Thor. It’s okay to judge the movie once it comes out, but judging before it even comes out?? Wack.

I think one of the most misunderstood ideas about this movie that some people don’t seem to grasp is that this is an introductory movie. Just like how Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor had to be introduced, Captain Marvel also has to be. I believe that a lot of people are so caught up in the fact that recent Marvel movies go all out with plot lines and fight scenes and characters, because they can. They already developed a lot of the story and the main superhero and possibly even the villains. This isn’t the case with Captain Marvel (as it should be) because they need to introduce her, tell her background, and just give her a chance to “get acquainted” in the MCU.

That being said, I’ll admit this movie did have me leaving the theater a little empty handed (figuratively speaking). Like I said, I loved this movie a lot, but something seemed like it was missing. To this day, I’m still not sure what it was. Some people say it’s because it never had that big moment where the superhero “understands” everything including how to use their powers. Maybe the part where she did start using her powers fully was rushed… It sort of felt like a light switch, one moment she didn’t really know what she was doing and the next moment, she did. But, you know, it could just be because she had been holding back.

I, personally, like the way they told Carol’s background. It was in quick flashes that way we could see what she believed was a different life that she doesn’t remember, but also didn’t tell us a whole lot so it kept the mystery alive. I do hope that in future Captain Marvel movies they decide to have Carol try to figure out her memories and maybe come across more people in her past or expand on some of the memories we did see in the movie and what happened before and after those experiences happened.

The CGI was absolutely amazing. I didn’t even notice at first that Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg looked younger. But, I mean, of course they did?! As you know this movie takes place in the 90s and the more recent movies take place around the same time as we live in the real world (a couple of years off though because Marvel messed up the timeline a bit and are correcting it). The best CGI are the ones that you either don’t notice or are so seamless that if you knew for a fact it wasn’t real, you’d believe it was (like a really good CGI Godzilla).

One thing I noticed a lot of people saying about Carol Danvers is that she doesn’t show much emotion. But in her defense, she was taught (on her planet) to hide her emotions for as long as she can remember so to randomly start showing a bunch of emotions all of a sudden would be very foreign to her! It’s also interesting that a lot of people are trying to say how she should feel when some of them probably don’t know how they will feel if they were thrown into that situation. Her whole world was shook (for lack of a better word), how do you expect her to feel? There is also the problem with people telling her how to feel because women are told that everyday in real life! Women are told to smile, do this, do that, and to be less emotional, but now there is a big female superhero who doesn’t use a lot of emotion and now you say she needs emotion?! How does that work??

Captain Marvel, in my opinion, was a great addition to the Marvel universe and I believe she will (obviously) have a big role in Avengers: Endgame. I can’t wait to see how she helps defeat Thanos and how the writers develop her character in future movies!

]]>https://www.zoeysxo.com/captain-marvel-review-no-spoilers/feed/1447Five Amazing Food Places to Visit in Austin, Texashttps://www.zoeysxo.com/five-amazing-food-places-to-visit-in-austin-texas/
https://www.zoeysxo.com/five-amazing-food-places-to-visit-in-austin-texas/#respondMon, 11 Mar 2019 19:03:13 +0000https://www.zoeysxo.com/?p=426So, I was lucky enough to go to Austin, Texas this Spring Break and I had an absolute amazing time! My next post will either be about the overall trip (and meeting with tech companies) or places to do and go in Austin! So, here is five food places that you absolutely have to try when you visit Austin!

1. 24 Diner – This is an old-fashioned diner where you can eat inside or outside. Here, I got the meatloaf and mashed potatoes and it was delicious. I was either going to order that or the chicken and waffles. Unfortunately, the chicken and waffles is waaaay too big of a meal (more bang for your buck) and I wouldn’t be able to finish it and because I’m too lazy to carry something back to the hotel (walking for 30 mins) I opted out of getting it…

2. Torchy’s Tacos – Sooooo many different types of tacos! One of the chaperones on the trip just would not stop talking about the catfish tacos! I was basic and got the chicken fajita ones and they tased delicious. We actually had this twice because at one of the companies we visited (Google), had the same idea and wanted to make sure we tried it before we left!

3. IN-N-OUT Burger – Oh my Gosh, their sauce. Augh. It was so good! A lot of people hype this place up where I am from (the east coast) since we don’t have it. I wanted to try it when I was in Los Angeles last year, but never made it there so I was really bummed. So, imagine my surprise when I found out that they have IN-N-OUT in Texas! The prices were fairly reasonable. In my opinion, they are a little over-hyped, but still really good!

4. Terry Black’s Barbecue – This place honestly made me feel like I connected with Austin, TX on a spiritual level (as weird as it sounds.) If you aren’t into meat (red meat especially) do not go here… I had no idea what to get because I had never been to an actual barbecue place so I got what most people in my group got (Brisket sandwich + Mac and Cheese + Cornbread). It was so good, it was actually worth my stomach turning practically inside out (since I don’t eat red meat). Another great barbecue place is Franklin’s. We couldn’t go there, unfortunately, because they always have really long lines and you have to line up at about 8am to get food because once they run out during lunchtime, that’s it for the day.

5. Food Trucks!! – Last, but not least, you have to go to at least one! Austin is really big on food trucks and it would be a shame if you never made it to one if you visited this place. Some food trucks even get turned into actual restaurants, so you can see just how big of a deal they are there. You can find them in a lot of different places and especially during the different festivals they have there year-round like this past weekend was the South by SouthWest Festival!

~I hope you enjoyed this list of must-try food places in Austin, TX! Austin really is a beautifully, diverse and cultural city so if you are willing to take a trip there, I would highly recommend it!~

Signing Off,Zoeysxo

]]>https://www.zoeysxo.com/five-amazing-food-places-to-visit-in-austin-texas/feed/0426Marvel 10 Year Sweepstakeshttps://www.zoeysxo.com/marvel-10-year-sweepstakes/
https://www.zoeysxo.com/marvel-10-year-sweepstakes/#commentsSat, 02 Mar 2019 23:27:05 +0000https://www.zoeysxo.com/?p=378Have you ever entered a contest and thought, “I have zero chances of winning, but it’s nice to get my hopes up only to be crushed…” That’s exactly what I was thinking when I entered the Marvel 10 Year Sweepstakes. I knew there were like hundreds of other people entering the same contest. I mean, why not? It was the chance of a lifetime to fly out to LA, stay in a hotel in downtown Hollywood, go to the set of Captain Marvel, Disneyland, Marvel Studios and Disney Studios, and go to the premiere of Avengers: Infinity War.

There were ten opportunities for you to win the contest. Each week there was a different character and you could tweet three times a day about your favorite moment about that character and/or post on Instagram three times a day about that character. I did both because it increased my chances of winning! I won either the second or third week with the character being Black Panther. My winning tweet was about how much I loved the handshake that Shuri and T’Challa did in Black Panther. Keep in mind that this was a random drawing so winners weren’t picked based off of content!

When I actually found out I won, I was in math class (in high school) and I couldn’t believe the notification when it popped up on my phone. I remember shockingly whispering, “I’m going to LA. Oh my God, I’m going to a movie premiere.” I called and told my mom and she didn’t believe me. In fact, nobody in my family really believed it, they thought I was being punked. My parents’ disbelief spurred them to call their friend at Homeland Security and have them check it out to make sure it was legit. And, you guessed it, it was!

After confirming with the company working with Marvel that made the flight plans and hotel arrangements, and signing many papers, the day for me to leave for LA approached quickly. I was so excited to go, but since I pretty disorganized, I packed literally the night before! My parents took my sister and I to the airport (she was my plus one for the trip) and we were on our way! The only problem I encountered at the airport (and this was a rookie mistake) was not packing travel sized items in my bag, so my skin care products, soap, and lotion got thrown out. In my defense, I hadn’t been on a plane since 8th grade and it was 12th grade at the time of this trip…

The flight took about five hours and since I’m from the east coast, we went back a couple of time zones. It was Sunday and we didn’t have anything planned by Marvel for the day so we booked a tour around Hollywood. A car was sent for us and another winner and her mom and we were taken to the hotel (Lowes Hollywood Hotel). Let me just tell you, that when I saw the palm trees, I was so ecstatic. I had never seen palm trees in real life and it was so warm and right then and there, I knew it was going to be an amazing trip full of wonderful experiences.

We got to the hotel and went up to our room, and it was breathtaking. The room was nice, but the view was extraordinary. We were on the 20th floor, so we could see everything around us from high up and had an amazing view of the Hollywood sign! There was no time to waste, though, so we quickly changed outfits, put on make up, and took an Uber to The Groove (a farmers market in downtown LA). There, we met up with my sister’s boyfriend (who was also in town) and his friend and ate empanadas for lunch. It was my first time eating them and it was sooooo good!!

From there, we took a tour of Los Angeles and saw the Hollywood sign, the house from Michael Jackson’s thriller music video, the Chinese theater, Rodeo Drive, and where they were setting up for the Infinity War premiere close to where the Walk of Fame was, which was also 5 mins (walking distance) from my hotel! That Sunday was truly amazing, but we were more excited about what was to come the next day!

The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, then along with the other winners, we were taken to the set of Captain Marvel. I, unfortunately, still can’t talk about what we saw on the set because I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement, but as soon as the movie comes out and Marvel gives me my pictures they took on set of us, I will write another post detailing that part of the day!

I can tell you that I did meet Brie Larson and we saw her film a scene with Samuel L. Jackson. Also that day, we visited Disney Studios and Marvel Studios. At Marvel Studios, we met Kevin Feige and got to hold some pretty cool props held by Captain America and Thor themselves (*wink*wink*). Again, I’ll go more into detail and show you pictures in my next post which should come out in a few weeks so either follow my blog or my instagram to stay updated! Now, moving on to the moment of truth, probably the entire reason you even looked at this post, the World Premiere of Avengers: Infinity War!

Let me just say that the entire day was packed full of activities, so when it finally came time to get ready for the premiere, my nerves were all over the place. We met in the hotel lobby with the other winners and their guests and walked over to the red carpet with the representatives from Marvel. It was so weird seeing all those people on the other side of the gates, while we were standing in line to get in because I know that our places could have easily been switched. Fun fact, movie premieres include a lot (and I mean A LOT) of waiting around! We finally got our passes and even saw some celebrities that weren’t in the movie show up to the premiere (pretty sure one of the kids from IT was there)!

We weren’t on the side of the carpet where the stars of the movie were, unfortunately, but we did get to take pictures in front of a really cool background. After taking tons of pictures, we made our way through the man-made “hall of fame (props and costumes)” from all the Marvel movies. It was really cool and we were allowed in much earlier than other people so we could take our time and see where everything was from and took about a hundred more pictures!

We waited around for a really long time, but the cast was just taking too long making their way through the carpet doing interviews. My sister and I decided to go inside and find our seats. Turns out, we were sitting in the second row, up front on the left! We had amazing seating! The lights dimmed, and finally the cast came out on stage! It was truly amazing seeing all of them up there! I was really surprised after all the speeches were done and the movie was about to start, they came out into the crowd around us. To be honest, I don’t know what I was expecting, but I wasn’t expecting to be sitting right in from of Don Cheadle (War Machine), about five rows in front of Tom Holland (Spider-Man), and sitting in the same section as Danai Gurira (Okoye) and Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury – who I saw earlier in the day).

The movie was absolutely amazing, but I guess you already know that now! Keeping it a secret for a whole week actually wasn’t hard. Considering the fact that I’ve kept secrets about Captain Marvel for a whole year, I’d say I’m pretty good at this! Unlike some people… (*cough*cough* Tom and Mark *cough*cough*). The next day, I went to Disneyland and had the time of my life, riding roller coaster after roller coaster and staying in the amazing hotel there! I honestly did not want to give any of it up, it felt like a dream come true! Hopefully, this isn’t the last you’ll see of me at one of these things. I’m working on it…

For more pictures and videos:
Check out my YouTube where I did an entire vlog about the trip – taking you with me every step of the way (My Unforgettable LA Trip)
And follow me on Instagram and Twitter for more pictures:
Insta: (@zoeysxo)
Twitter: (@zoeysxo)

]]>https://www.zoeysxo.com/marvel-10-year-sweepstakes/feed/1378One Day at a Time Reviewhttps://www.zoeysxo.com/one-day-at-a-time-review/
https://www.zoeysxo.com/one-day-at-a-time-review/#commentsMon, 11 Feb 2019 22:53:40 +0000https://www.zoeysxo.com/?p=203Okay, first of all, I love this show. I’m currently not caught up on season 3, which just came out like a week ago, but I’m really close to finishing season 2. This is such a great show and I felt it was the perfect thing to review since it just came back.

The first thing about the show that I want you to take special note of is the fact that it stars a Cuban-American family! It’s really refreshing to see diversity and a culture different from my own. It follows a mom living with her two kids and mother and also their weird and rich landlord (Pat Schneider; played by Todd Grinnell) of the building tends to stop by a lot as comedic relief.

The story hits on many different subjects, such as sexism, homophobia, mental illness, immigration, and what it’s like to live as latino in the US. One aspect that I really loved was that the daughter, Elena Alvarez (played by Isabella Gomez) is very much like a lot of people in my generation. She is a feminist, is very passionate that everyone be treated equally, and her storyline of being an open lesbian encourages the discussion of gay people of color (more specifically Latinx) and coming out to christian families.

The mom, Penelope Alvarez (played by Justina Machado), is a veteran (currently a nurse) dealing with anxiety and depression. She attends group therapy meetings and is on anti-depression medication. I like how they put a lot of emphasis on the fact that veterans do deal with a lot of problems when they come back from serving and a lot of people don’t realize the extent of it. We are told on several occasions that it affected Penelope’s husband in a negative way (he is also a veteran), so much so, that it messed up their marriage leaving Penelope to take care of her two kids only with the help of her mom.

Alejandro “Alex” Alvarez (played by Marcel Ruiz) is your typical teenager. He likes hanging out with his friends, playing video games, and making fun of his sister. What I really love about him is no matter how much he does make fun of her, he will always have her back. When someone very close to Elena didn’t accept who she was, he tried desperately to defend her and make them see it from her side. He has had his fair share of life lessons, but one that really stood out to me was in the beginning of season 1 when he hated being called his nickname, “Papito” because his classmates at school made fun of him using different stereotypes and called him awful names because he was Cuban. That storyline really showed what it was like to be a minority in everyday life as a kid.

Lastly, Lydia Riera (the grandmother; played by Rita Moreno) deals with her own situation of trying to become an American citizen as she often reflects on how she came to America, the troubles she has dealt with being Cuban, and being very traditional (christian). I love how dramatic she can be sometimes, but she really is an overall amazing person. She cares very much for her daughter and grandchildren and although sometimes her beliefs conflict with situations around her, she finds it in her heart to understand what other people are going through.

One Day at a Time is a truly an amazing show and although it is based off of a sitcom of the same name years ago, it is special and making such a big impact now in its own way. I would highly recommend watching this show, if not for the important issues talked about in it, but also for the laughs.

~I give it a 10/10 (and not just because I love it…)~

Signing Off,Zoeysxo

]]>https://www.zoeysxo.com/one-day-at-a-time-review/feed/1203How to Have a Productive Weekendhttps://www.zoeysxo.com/how-to-have-a-productive-weekend/
https://www.zoeysxo.com/how-to-have-a-productive-weekend/#respondFri, 08 Feb 2019 20:15:46 +0000https://www.zoeysxo.com/?p=200I struggled with trying to figure out what to post today and I figured since my weekend will be pretty boring because I’m studying for a test, maybe I could give you guys advice on having a nice productive and efficient weekend.

Time and time again, I have procrastinated and absolutely wasted my weekends. I did nothing on Friday night, all day Saturday, and all day Sunday leaving all my homework for Sunday night. And I know a lot of people will agree with me and say they do the exact same thing. Stop doing it! You know, you would probably feel a lot better if you did what you needed to do ahead of time until waiting until the last minute (as usual). So here is a list of how to fix it:

Make a schedule of when you want to do things (such as homework, going to the gym, working on a project, studying, hanging out with friends, or just relaxing and scrolling on Twitter)

Do a little bit at a time. Instead of trying to do a big project all in one sitting start a little earlier and take breaks in-between so it doesn’t seem like such a daunting task

Speaking of breaks, make sure you allow your brain to breathe. Go to the gym, walk around your room, watch a 30 minute (or less!) episode from your favorite show or YouTube channel, read a few pages in a book, or go get a snack!

Work with a study group! It doesn’t have to be a “formal” study group, but you could get a study room or sit somewhere in your dorm with a few people. Sometimes it’s nice to sit with other people working on something even if you aren’t working on the same assignment!

I’m not saying you have do anything Friday night besides partying, but after you get out of your last class, don’t immediately just go jump in the bed or get ready to party. Try seeing if there is something quick you can get out of the way or jot down some notes from class that you don’t want to forget later! You don’t have to do much, but every little bit counts!

Don’t lay in bed until 1pm! I’ve been guilty of this a lot, but luckily I have a roommate who gets up at weird times! I was being sarcastic, if you couldn’t tell. Seriously though, sometimes she gets up at 9am on a Saturday and other times its 1pm. It hurts my soul, but laying in until the afternoon is not the move.

But most importantly, have fun! Yeah it’s cool to study and do your work, but remember that’s not only what college is for! Go out! Try something new (and safe)! As long as you find a good balance between getting your work done and doing fun stuff, you’ll be fine!

Signing Off,Zoeysxo

]]>https://www.zoeysxo.com/how-to-have-a-productive-weekend/feed/0200Long Distance Relationshipshttps://www.zoeysxo.com/long-distance-relationships/
https://www.zoeysxo.com/long-distance-relationships/#respondWed, 06 Feb 2019 19:51:33 +0000https://www.zoeysxo.com/?p=186Yeah…so I’m not about the dating life currently, so this is going to be advice that I hope can be helpful, but I don’t actually know because I have no experience in the relationship department, much less the long distance relationship department. I’m currently listening to my “Love Schmood” playlist to get in that mindset of having to live apart from my significant other that I don’t have and maybe I can actually do this.

I’m going to assume (probably for my own sake) that you guys have already met in person whether it be somewhere you were traveling to and had to eventually leave them or you had to part ways and say, for example, go to different colleges. The first thing you have to realize is that, no, it’s not going to be easy. Relationships are never easy and with the stress of being so far apart from each other adds weight and strain.

The first thing you need to ask yourself and each other is, “is it worth it?” Either do I like this person enough to continue to get to know them from so far away or do I love this person enough to put in the time and effort to keep our relationship alive? If the answer is yes for the both of you, then congrats, communication is key to relationships and the fact that you both communicated that you are willing to show effort means that you are already stronger as a couple.

The next thing is to decide how you want to communicate. Are you going to call/text each other everyday, every other day, once a week? I know with most friendships, you aren’t “required” to talk to each other every day, but it might be different with relationships depending on the person. I’m not saying you need to have a long thoughtful, deep conversation everyday, but sometimes just telling each other how your day was or even saying good morning, have a nice day, and goodnight can go a long way.

Other methods can, of course, include FaceTime, Skype, oovoo (if you still use that, but I haven’t since middle school…) Instagram, or sending cute/funny snaps to each other on snapchat. My point here is that there are a million methods for you guys to talk through, so utilize them! Don’t let your relationship go down the drain because you don’t talk to each other.

A lot of communication from such a far distance can bring up problems, though. Be weary of that. I have problems with my own friends back home sometimes and a lot of it is because we can’t talk face-to-face and sort it out. But, I’ve done it and you can do it too. Just make sure that you call them or FaceTime to solve the problem. It’s a lot easier when you hear each other’s voices or see each other’s faces, that way nothing is miscommunicated.

Last piece of advice. The moments that you do have together, cherish them. Sometimes you don’t know when the next time you’ll see them is and that should make it all the more special. Do stuff that makes the both of you happy, whether that be going to parties, going out to eat, hanging out with friends together, or just staying inside curled up on the couch watching a movie. Make lasting memories that you can look back on and smile about and get excited for the next time you’ll see them again.

Trying to keep up a relationship miles apart isn’t easy, but when you put in the work for it, it makes what you have with that special person so much more beautiful. I hope this was helpful and remember this when you want to give up:

Signing Off,Zoeysxo

]]>https://www.zoeysxo.com/long-distance-relationships/feed/0186Taking a Knee: A Peaceful Protesthttps://www.zoeysxo.com/taking-a-knee-a-peaceful-protest/
https://www.zoeysxo.com/taking-a-knee-a-peaceful-protest/#respondTue, 05 Feb 2019 02:58:03 +0000https://www.zoeysxo.com/?p=184Since the Super Bowl was yesterday, I thought it would be the perfect time talk about this interesting topic. It’s such a giant point of controversy that the country is pretty much divided on. So, let’s dive right in.

The National anthem protests began around the summer of 2016. Before Colin Kaepernick (the football player that initially started the movement along with Eric Reid) started kneeling, he was sitting. He eventually started kneeling because he believed that it showed more respect to those in the military than sitting.

The reason behind the movement was to bring more attention and awareness to police brutality and racism. On August 26th, 2016, after a game, Kaepernick stated, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” When you use one ounce of your brain to think about what he said, you should realize that what he’s saying isn’t wrong…

For years, countless black men and women have died because the police don’t care enough to ask questions first and shoot never. Instead of calmly trying to solve a problem or if it gets to radical, use a taser, they decide to just shoot instead.

Anyways, Kaepernick decided to start kneeling after talking to Nate Boyer, who is an army veteran. He said that it would be more respectful to kneel than to sit because “people kneel to pray” and “we’ll kneel in front of a fallen brother’s grave.” The majority of people that are telling Kaepernick that he is being disrespectful to the troops haven’t even served themselves. There are countless veterans who say that they fought for us so that we could have the freedom to use our rights and that’s exactly what Kaepernick is doing! Look at that! Boiling hot tea!

Many people like to say that Kaepernick kneeling for the national anthem is disrespectful, but it’s his only form of protest that will get attention. He is literally doing a peaceful protest and there are still people that say that sports is not the place for it or that there are other ways to protest. But what other ways can you think of? If we go marching in the streets, we are deemed radical and the police are sent after us. This way, we cause no problems and we are getting our point across.

Kaepernick has since then lost his job because no one is willing to pick him for their team. However, he made a deal with Nike and now has a campaign with them. Kaepernick has made such a big impact that other athletes from other sports have started participating in the movement. And now, he inspires people to fight for something no matter the sacrifice.

]]>https://www.zoeysxo.com/taking-a-knee-a-peaceful-protest/feed/0184Aquaman Review *No Spoilers*https://www.zoeysxo.com/aquaman-review-no-spoilers/
https://www.zoeysxo.com/aquaman-review-no-spoilers/#respondFri, 01 Feb 2019 20:25:01 +0000https://www.zoeysxo.com/?p=181Yikes. Believe me, I know how most people feel about DC. I know the ones that either read the comics or are just heavily invested in this universe tend to not trust DC with any movies. There are different opinions as to when the DCEU (DC extended universe) started turning to crap, but these past few movies have been really bad. So, let’s dive into the good and the bad of this new movie…

Don’t get me wrong, DC will always have a special place in my heart, but not over marvel though. The DC tv shows are good to a certain extent. It seems as though the longer they go on, the worse they get whether it’s the villains, character development, or them adding new characters and doing nothing with them. DC has had the same continuous problem throughout their movie franchise, development of characters. They don’t know how to introduce a character properly, give proper background, establish a problem in a timely manner, and actually make a good plot that makes sense (I’m looking at you *ending of Batman v. Superman*)!

Now, I should compare this to Marvel where they actually give (most) important characters their own movie and developed the problem slowly over TEN years of movies for one giant mash-up compared to Justice League or Batman v. Superman just randomly happening, but I won’t do that (or have I already??).

Anyways, this is a post about Aquaman so we should probably start talking about it. One good thing: Jason Momoa. And no this isn’t because I think he’s good looking (even though we all know he is), it’s because he is exactly who I pictured in the role of Arthur Curry. He looks like he should be from some long-lost forgotten civilization. I mean, he did play Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones, but whatever.

One thing I didn’t like was the fact that there might have been a little bit much going on. You have Curry fighting for his place on the throne, somebody trying to take the throne from him, that whole mess with his parents, a love interest, and this other guy who is trying to kill him. And on top of all of that, they are taking a tour around the world on a stupid treasure hunt.

That being said, I still enjoyed the movie. One thing that they did get right was introducing the villain who I believe will be in the next movie. Like I said, they have a bad history of introducing villains in a way that is detrimental to the entire plot of the movie. The special effects were also a plus with this movie. For as big of a franchise as this one, I expect top tier effects and nothing less. If they are putting millions of dollars into this movie, it needs to look good.

The movie was a bit predictable, but that might just be me. I caught myself at parts guessing what was going to happen next and for the most part, I was right. I’m not trying to sound arrogant or anything because I know how much time and effort goes into these scripts, but yeesh.

One thing that really annoyed me was something that happened at the end of the movie. How it happened made absolutely no sense and if you pay attention closely to things like I do, there was no way you could miss it. I was irritated and I had no explanation as to where it came from and when they even had time to do it! But, whatever, it’s just a movie, right?

All in all, it wasn’t the worst movie in the DCEU. I can name you about three other movies that were worse and probably a couple more in the next few years that will be either worse or on the same level. But, don’t take my word on it, go watch it for yourself!

~I give it a 6 out of 10~

Aquaman is still in theater currently and will be released on DVD in April or May of 2019!